The National tribune., 1887-02-24
TIE SIXTH CORPS.
A New Yorker Replies 10 CaPl. J. F.
Fits.
By 2. 7. GRIFFIN, l22D n. Y, CHICAGO, ILL.

i have read the article by Capt. James +.
Fits, l1sth y. V, in reply 10 Capt ID. 4. Lock-
hart 6Ist Pa. and am somewhat amused at the
wonderful Goings OF the Nineteenth Corps at
Cedar Creek, as recorded by him. j had pre-
Viously read the history of the Hath ". V. and
in II found evidences of a disgruntled spirit
toward the Sixth Corps " for getting in their
way etc know this feeling arose by reason
of not being able TO keep out Of the way of the
Sixth Corps in many hard marches: one nota-
bly,, where the Sixth Corps entirely outstrippcd
the Nineteenth on the march toward Washing
ton. This was easily accounted for, as the
Nineteenth was comparatively greer" body
Of men, aud unused 10 racing after the ConiCd
crate foot cavalry Of old Stonewall Jackson.
But let me now turn TO Capt. Fits and ask
him how many men the Nineteenth Corps CT
Hath y. Y. lost at the battle of Fort Stcvcnsy
4 As ] am informed, there is a monument on that
battlefield containing the names of 40 men
killed in that brilliant affair, aud nearly all
from Bidwells Brigade of Getty's Division,
Sixth Corps.
Capt. Lockhart is certainly right. as ! am
credihly informed in saying the Nineteenth
Corps broke at Winchester. The pike was the
dividing line between the Nineteenth and Sixth
Corps. aud for a space Of about 500 yards on
the line Of the Nineteenth Corps the Conied-
crates broke through, which was
AT ONCE CALAMITY RETAEEN
and the gap closed by Gen Russell with a
brigade Of the Sixth Corps, at the cost Of that
/ brave Generals life.
/ There is no SANDER in telling the plain truth.
! IL may be that the assaulting column Of the
enemy was ovcrp0wering at this point OF the
/ line and would have crushed any other troops.
1 But certain il is that in all my connection with
1 the Sixth Corps no Confederate line WAS ever
able TO stampede or break through any single
brigade The nearest il ever came TO be broken
+ was in the Wilderness, IN the darkness, on the
/ 9th of MAY, 1864. But the line was quickly
/ reformed and the Coniederates gained no ad-
vantage.
Capt Fits seems TO delight in paradng the
number of regiments at Winchester in the
Sixth Corps rs being a., aud the Ninetcenth at
| 33 Does he know that the Sixth Corps, start
ing out in the May previous with 10000 men,
aud after Cedor Creek could scarcely muster
5000 men for actual fightingg Many regi-
ments contained barely 100 men, and only one
/ or two commissioned officers.
We Of the Sixth Corps are quite willing 10
let the Captains in the Nineteenth Corps Jug
gle with the figures Of the number Of men lost
in each Corps. This little affair i'm the Shen-
andoah seems to puG up exceedingly the Nine
teenth Corps boys. 1t was
ONLY AN INCIDENT
in the arduous work Of the grand old Fight
ing Sixth. IL was easy rs the boys say. If
we could have got out Of the war with only
1 tnlS ana lOI lluQSOD we Noulu nave COLI
sidered ourselves lucky.
But as Capt. Fits feels particularly ag-
grieved at Capt. Loekhart's account Of the bat
tie of Cedar Creek, / will give him little Of
my rccollections of that ultimately glorious af-
iair, SO far as the Sixth Corps is concerned
anyway.
First, / will draw on Capt Fits a most
formidable weapon in pen-and-ink warfare
my diary and other memoranda made at the
time, and hope il will bring him up as lively
as a resolute and courageous cavalry regiment
brought up the fleeing members of the Nine
teenth Corps on Getty's right, in the woods.
about half past z or O'clock a. m, Oct. 10,
1864 at Cedar Creek. / saw them running
back and forth on horseback swinging and
slashing with the sabcr at those fleeing and
demoralized men for an hGnr or more before
the stampede was quieted. These men rush
ing 10 the rear were not the Sixth Corps fell
lows either But don't like TO tell too much
out OF school, so will
FIRE OFF MY DIARY.
Oct 19.-At O'Clock this morning the rebels at
tackled our plclSets on the right and the Eighth
and Nineteenth Corps on the Jeff and completely
routed them Eighth and Nineteenth Corpsl cap
turing some artillery aud many prisoners How
ever the Sixth Corps formed a line back of Middle
town aud stopped them, and at half past O'Clock
charged their lines driving them la confusion,
which the cavalry followed up. capturing all our
artillery back aud ~ pieces of theirs.
In my company Orderly ScTg't Hamil lost leg
Sergt Henry 6hce wounded la the leg. and pri-
Yates Donally, Peters aud CSrpl Tcmpleton
slightly wounded Col. Dwight badly wounded in
arm; Ma. Brewer killed; Lieut. Wilmer wounded.
Total 43 killed aud wounded ia the regiment
Gen. Bldwell, commanding our brigade, was
killed; Capt Orme, on s staff Was wounded. Col.
hyde, of the lsi Me-, now commands our brigade,
Capt. Clapp our regiment, and Serg't Eldridge
company. This battle 10 called Battle OF Mid
dletown."
Oct 20--we are in our old camp that we lefl be-
fore the battle. Three dead bodies lay n it of the
/ Nineteenth Corps. j went the battlefield.
IL was awful! stark naked bodies lay ia rows To
1 he buried. On the field guns were picked up aud
the wounded that had lain out In a cold night with
no covering were picked up, and everything looks
as though nothing had happened
IL seems that Gen. Sheridan did not want to
be surprised again, so Gctty's Division was on
the 22d sent out TO hill just north Of Stras-
burg, where
BREAsTwoRKs WERE BUILT
and yigilant watch kept up. Here wrote "a
my relatives as follows:
or PICKET NEAR SrRAsBuRG, Va.
Sunday, Oct. % 1864.
! suppose you have worried about me since they
( have been hghtlng, but thank God j am safe
I through another awful carnage. The fight com
menced Oct ~ at % clock m. the rebels attack
: ing the Eighth and Nineteenth Corps driving
them out Of their beds, left their clothes
Our corps then doubled quicoed across and formed
9 a new line, losing very heavily. We captured ia
the afternoon az pieces Of artillery. But the bat
T., tie not complete victory for u.s. Ii was
fought la the village of MiddietOwn. The rebel,
TOOK on The clothes OF our Killed, and look amOs
all the things away from the wounded.
. We arc digging breastworEs, and expect 20 b,
attacked every moment
; Now, the Sixth Corps was a mile or two &,
the right OF the Nineteenth Corps, and, o.
course, in the rear, and was attacked in from
7 by the enemy al the same time the attack wa
, first made on Crook. But we thought nothin;
! serious had occurred, until the sound Of cannon
4 almost in our rear reached our ears. At
J. O'Clock we pushed across the open field east
a ward toward MiddlctOwn, aud as we got 10
: road running northwest a terrible sight burs
A upon us-the whole field was filled will
wagons, ambulances, and a mob of our men
nineteenth and Eighth Corps with the rebel
POURING SHOT AND SHELL
y into them. They broke us up pretty badly
and the Nineteenth Corps at o'clock, whei
!, Getty's Division formed on the hill and wen
. into action, was safely in our rear and bein
! reorganizcd for work. Getty peppered AVA
= until after a. M, when, the rebels hankin
; him at both ends and concentrating a heav,
, artillery fire on bis lines, he rctreated in goo
order TO "A second line, where the Nincteentl
y Corps did finally get IN shape and did goo
y work. The bodies of the Nineteenth Corps ii
. our camp were men killed in the advance il
the afternoon.
= IL was plain nj the time TO everybody tha
y the Nineteenth Corps was terribly whipped i
y the morning, aud the Sixth Corps alway
- thought that they did not stand 10 their wor
= as they ought 30. 1 was detailed the next da
&c to 20 over the battlefield TO pick up musket,
and the only place any considerable number
~ Of the COnfederates were found killed O
"A inf gff fl.